


thought the world was so slow (through my closed eyes)

by iamalystark



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Spencer Reid, Bank Robbery, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Good Godparent Spencer Reid, Gunshot Wounds, Hospitals, How Do I Tag, Hurt Spencer Reid, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau & Spencer Reid Friendship, Minor Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/William LaMontagne Jr., Near Death Experiences, Parent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau, Protective Jennifer "JJ" Jareau, Protective Spencer Reid, Spencer Reid Angst, Spencer Reid Needs a Hug, Spencer Reid Whump, Spencer Reid is a Mess, Team as Family, The BAU Team as Family (Criminal Minds), Unsub | Unknown Subject, Whump, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:54:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29643315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamalystark/pseuds/iamalystark
Summary: "Are you gon' die, Uncle 'pencer?" Henry asked, sniffling, and when Reid turned his head to look at him, he saw the boy rubbing his hand across his face, leaving a smear of blood."No, no, Henry. I'm. . . gonna be fine," he promised, managing a shaky smile, and for once in his life, he didn't know if he was lying or not.(Or, Spencer is watching Henry when the bank they're at gets robbed.)
Relationships: Henry LaMontagne & Spencer Reid, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau & Spencer Reid, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/William LaMontagne Jr., The BAU Team & Spencer Reid
Comments: 19
Kudos: 182





	thought the world was so slow (through my closed eyes)

**Author's Note:**

> i spent like three days writing this lol

"Bye, Mommy!" Five year old Henry LaMontagne cried into the phone in his hands, a toothy grin on his face, before he abruptly thrusted the device to the only other person in the room. Grinning at his godson's antics, Spencer carefully took back his now suspiciously sticky phone into his hands, bringing it to his ear. 

"Hey, JJ. As you can see, he's still alive," the genius teased immediately, drawing a laugh from the agent on the other end. 

" _He better still be alive when Will gets him tonight, Spence,"_ JJ joked right back, and she could hear the man in question speaking softly in the background. JJ made a distracted noise, the phone suddenly muffled as she said something indecipherable, likely to her husband. Then she was back. " _He seemed pretty sure that you're actually a dinosaur expert instead of an FBI agent. Wanna tell me what that's about?"_

Reid chuckled at that, looking to Henry. The boy was animatedly clashing his toy dinosaurs together, his glass of grape juice sitting precariously close to the edge of the table. When Reid had gifted the toys to Henry the night before, he'd simply explained that Stegosauruses and Tyrannosaurus Rexes actually hadn't existed during the same time, an approximate 77 million year period between them. (With wonder and confusion in his eyes, Henry had proceeded to ignore his uncle and continue to play with them, using one to make the other fly across the room.)

"Who knows? Maybe he's right. There are plenty of dinosaur related jobs that would accept me. I'm overqualified, really--"

" _Spence_ ," JJ laughed, cutting him off. He smiled harder. 

"I'll see you tonight, Jayje. Have fun with Will."

" _Thank you,"_ she sung, a happy tinge to her voice, and after a quick goodbye on both ends, Reid hung up, putting his phone down on the table and squinting at his now sticky fingers.

"Henry, did you--Agh!" The doctor cried out as Henry slammed his T-Rex toy onto the table, and his glass tipped over, splashing its contents all over the front of Reid's vest. 

"Oh no! 'm sorry, Uncle 'pencer!" Henry apologized, his eyes wide as his Godfather tugged the vest over his head before the grape juice could soak into his white button up.

With a small sigh and squinted eyes, he directed his gaze to the five year old. He couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips at seeing him. "It's alright, Henry. Just be careful next time," he told him, picking up the glass and darting over to the sink to dump out its remains and rinse it off. 

Within a few minutes, the mess was all cleaned up, and Spencer's hands were clean enough to satisfy himself. A quick look to Henry found the boy experimentally gnawing on the head of the Stegosaurus. "Henry, no. Plastic isn't food. After we go to the bank, I'll get you some ice cream, alright?" He called, taking a silent victory when Henry lit up, dropping the toy onto the table and leaping out of the chair. 

"Can we go now?" He begged, skipping over to him, and Spencer smiled.

They had no idea just how much they'd wish to be back here later, when there were three guns trained on them. "You bet! Shoes?" Spencer agreed, watching as the five year old practically sprinted to grab them. He came back and held them out expectantly, and as he took them, Reid grabbed his phone from the table, predicting how the interaction would go smoothest. 

"Here, you hold this for me while I put your shoes on," Reid said, crouching down to shove Henry's feet into the dark green shoes. Henry gasped, smiling so hard it looked like it hurt as he nodded firmly, grasping the device in both hands. 

Once they were firmly on his feet, Henry had deposited the phone into his small pocket and darted over to the table to grab his dinosaurs. "You can take one with," Spencer called, standing up, and the little boy didn't even take a second to choose, dropping the chewed on Stegosaurus onto the chair. 

"T-Rexes are cooler!" Henry exclaimed, and then he ran over to him, reaching his right hand up to intertwine with his Godfather's, the left clutching the T-Rex like a lifeline. 

"Yeah? I think so too. Except, I'm pretty sure a Tyrannosaurus Rex would eat you right up," Spencer teased as he opened his apartment door. 

A delighted laugh tore from Henry's throat. " _Uncle 'pencer!"_

* * *

Reid and Henry walked into the bank smiling. As his nephew chattered excitedly about the secret present his dad was getting his mom, Spencer's eyes were locked onto the boy. Perhaps that's why he didn't notice right away. 

Standing in the line to see a bank teller, his cheque from work was in his right pocket so he could access it without letting go of Henry's hand. "And Daddy said he's giving it to Mommy tonight! But Mommy told me she a'ready heard him talkin' to me about it so she's gonna act s'prised!" He cried, bouncing slightly on his heels, an action that made Spencer's heart warm once again. 

"Oh yeah? That sounds just like your Mommy and Daddy," he agreed, nodding. 

"That's 'cause it _is_ Mommy and Daddy, Uncle 'pencer!" Henry giggled out, making the woman in front of them glance back with a warm smile. 

It didn't take much profiling at all for Reid to realize that the woman was a mother. Obnoxiously brightly colored nail polish was not only on her nails, but also on random spots on her hands. Plus, she had slight eyebags that most parents of young children tended to have. No ring, and the tiredness on her face had him deducing that she was a single mom with a daughter under ten. 

"Hi, how can I help you?" The teller asked the woman in front of Reid, and he wracked his brain for a split-second to remember that this particular teller was named Alice. Spencer had seen her before, more often than the others because she was most often on duty when he came in. 

Whatever the woman said in return was drowned out by a sudden scream, and Spencer was spinning around in an instant, tugging Henry behind him. 

A teenage girl was sprawled on the ground and staring up in fear at the three men that had just walked in, masked and each carrying a gun. Immediately, Spencer's heart dropped into his stomach, his face paling. Henry clung to his leg, mostly in confusion, and as the occupants of the bank began to scream, Reid realized he'd never been this scared in his life.

* * *

JJ grimaced, pulling her phone away from her ear. "I'm sorry," she sighed, and watched his face fall. 

"It's okay. Go, your team needs you," Will said assuringly, and leant across the table to kiss her. When they pulled apart, she gave him an exasperated smile. 

"Give me that necklace tonight, yeah?"

She was out the door before he could exclaim that she wasn't supposed to know about it, and she glanced down at her phone as she jogged out to the car. 

_**Hotch** : Robbery at Bank of America. Get here as soon as you can._

She didn't expect to see Spencer there, knowing he still had Henry with him, completely safe. 

(She was so, so wrong.)

* * *

As the smallest looking man went down the line of hostages in the bank, six people besides him and Henry, Reid's only thoughts were on why the hell he hadn't worn his gun, and then shit, _can't wear a gun in a bank anyway,_ and then _these guys didn't exactly get the memo,_ and _oh my God Henry's here Henry's here Henry's here--_

"Phone and wallet now," the man barked, suddenly in front of Reid. 

Henry let out a whimper, clutching harder at his Godfather's leg. At the mention of his phone, Reid remembered exactly where it was, a plan already forming in his mind. "I left my phone at home," he said, meeting the man's dark, twitchy eyes from beneath the mask, even as he slowly slid his wallet out of his pocket. 

"You expect me to believe that?" The man snapped, snagging the wallet and shoving the gun in his face as he flipped it open. He froze then, his eyes widening, and Spencer knew he could've disarmed the man easily, maybe even _would_ have if he was the only hostage, but there were still two other unsubs with weapons a bit farther away. "You're FBI?" He said, breathless, and that caught the attention of everyone in the vicinity. 

The single mother looked hopeful then, her tear stained face angling towards him. The other unsubs' heads snapped toward them. "Did you say FBI?" One asked, while the other stalked over, an angry tilt to his posture.

"Where's the phone? You can't expect us to believe a Fed doesn't have his cell on him," Number One, as Reid had dubbed him--since he was undoubtedly the leader--demanded. 

"I left it at home," Spencer repeated, holding out the arm not wrapped around his nephew as if to say, ' _Search me, I dare you_.' 

He dared. Firmly and more rough than necessary, Number One patted him down, making Henry let out a terrified sob. "No gun or phone? What kinda Fed are you?"

"An off duty one," he shot back, then internally cringed at the hostility in his voice. When faced with a hostage situation, one must always appease the hostage-taker to avoid any civilian casualties. It wasn't for the first time the Reid was on the hostage end instead of the agent end of the situation. It was the first time Henry's life was on the line, though, and it scared him, no matter how calm his exterior looked. 

Number Two, who'd been the one to take his wallet, scoffed, shifting in his position next to Number One. It was clear the former wasn't completely trustful of the leader. Number Three, though, who was leisurely aiming his pistol at the hostages, clearly held blind faith in the man. 

Number One just watched him for another moment, before he stepped back, nodding to himself, and turned away. "Watch," Number Two snapped, and it took Reid a moment to follow the man's gaze to his wrist, slipping off the piece of metal and handing it over without hesitation. 

Sure, he was FBI, and he'd faced men and women worse than them, but he wasn't stupid. He wasn't an agent here, he was an unarmed hostage with a child to take care of. Number Two moved on down the line, making Reid thank any God that was out there that they didn't seem to pay attention to Henry at all. It also meant they weren't paying attention to the phone in Henry's pocket. 

As the unsubs talked between themselves, something became glaringly obvious. They'd walked into a bank, and instead of taking the copious amounts of money in the vaults, they'd taken a few trinkets from mostly poor civilians, and they didn't look like they were in any rush to get away. This wasn't just a robbery, and their danger had just intensified. 

Henry sobbed into Spencer's leg, his whole body shaking, and despite the situation, Reid shifted his attention to him, rubbing his back soothingly. "It's okay, Hen. You're alright,' he whispered, trying to get his cries to quiet. He wasn't sure what their captors would do if they got annoyed. (Though, he knew the very least he'd do for his Godson was jump in front of any bullet meant for him.)

"You're seriously not going to do anything?" The voice of a very annoyed sounding man caught Reid's attention, his attention suddenly split between approaching vehicles, Henry, and him. He was dressed in a cheap looking suit and his face was covered in a sheen of sweat. He radiated nervousness in waves, but was clearly trying to put up a front of anger. 

"There's nothing I can do," Spencer replied, trying to placate both the man and their captors. 

"You're FBI! _Do_ something!" The man cried, making Reid's heart begin to pound. There wasn't anything he could do yet. He tried to convey that with his eyes, an almost pleading look on his face as he slowly slipped his hand into his nephew's pocket, his fingers curling around his still sticky phone. (What had Henry even got on the device?)

Henry cries quieted suddenly, but he was still sniffling and the occasional hitched breath escaped him.

"Come on! Do so--"

The man's cries were cut off abruptly as a gunshot sounded, and everyone watched as he fell to the ground, a red hole in the center of his forehead. The hostages screamed, and Henry let out a heartbreaking cry, his whole body shaking against Reid's side. 

Even while he shushed him, shoving his face against his leg so the boy couldn't see the body, the hand with the phone remained tucked behind Henry, and with expertise he didn't know he had, Spencer clicked the on button. Next, he held the volume button all the way down for a solid thirty seconds, wanting to be sure it was down. And finally, as people sobbed and cried out around him, he clicked on the screen exactly where he knew the call icon was, and clicked on the top of the screen. JJ was the last person he'd called, and hopefully it was ringing.

* * *

JJ had just gotten her bulletproof vest on when the gunshot went off. She was sure even Hotch had jumped, but he'd never admit it. "Are we going in?" Morgan asked from beside them, Rossi and Morgan looking to be wondering the same question. 

"Not yet," Hotch frowned, his eyes staring at the walls of the bank as if he'd see through if he looked hard enough. "We need to wait for Garcia to get us a visual. There's no telling how many of them there are or how many hostages."

"Or where in the bank they are," JJ added, her train of thought derailed by the shrill sound of her phone ringing. Quickly fishing it out, she saw Spencer's name flashing on the screen. She shot a questioning look to her boss, who saw the name and nodded once.

JJ answered, quickly putting it to her ear. "Hey, Spence, I know you probably want to come in, but it's best you just keep Henry at your apartment, okay? There's a hostage situation at the bank, but we should be okay without you just for today," she said, and then waited for a response. 

A frown scrunched up her features when she didn't get one, instead hearing the unmistakable sound of her son crying. "Spence? Is that Henry? What's wrong?" She asked, her voice getting quieter and her tone more worried. 

" _You didn't have to shoot him,_ " came her best friend's voice, and her blood ran cold, her suddenly wide eyes meeting Hotch's, who looked back in alarm at the look on her face. 

The blonde pulled her phone away from her ear, putting it on speaker. 

" _He was getting on my nerves, Fed, so yeah I did_ ," an unfamiliar voice snapped at their youngest agent, and the others, who hadn't been paying attention before, now were. 

" _He was just scared--"_

" _You know, if you don't quit with your whining, maybe you and the rugrat will start getting on my nerves,"_ the voice hissed, and JJ's breath hitched, her eyes shooting to the bank doors. _No_. Please, _no_.

The unmistakable sound of Henry crying, along with the muffled gasps of other people resonated with all of them. JJ's hand flew to her mouth, tears rushing to her eyes. " _Uncle 'pencer_ ," Henry cried, and Hotch suddenly started directing JJ rapidly to the tech van Garcia was in, the rest of the team close behind. 

" _It's okay, it's okay, Henry. You're alright_ ," Spencer whispered, just barely audible, and a loud laugh startled all of them, including Garcia, who Emily was hurriedly filling in. 

"They're in the bank," Morgan said obviously, his face blanched. 

"Spencer, can you hear us? Or can we just hear you?" Hotch asked, voice firm despite the anxiety in his eyes. 

" _You have seven hostages and three guns, okay? You don't need to kill anyone to get what you want,"_ Spencer said, clearly not to them, and they realized then that he couldn't hear them. They also just got told exactly how many unsubs there were, and how many lives were at stake. 

" _But,_ Uncle Spencer," another voice mocked, " _what's the fun in that?"_

* * *

"Look, you three are in control here, okay?" Reid said to their captors, his voice firm and loud in case JJ either hadn't heard or understood his previous comment, his heart just about pounding out of his chest. 

"Oh, really? I didn't notice," Number Three said sarcastically, right before Number One replied with,

"And here I thought that the guns we're aiming at you guys would give off that vibe."

He looked between them, trying not to let his face betray his emotions, his lips pursing. "So, what're you gonna do?" Number Three asked after the other two backed off for a moment. An audible swallow left Reid's throat. 

"W-What do you mean?"

"I mean suit guy said you should do something. What are you gonna do, _Uncle Spencer_?" He demanded, lurching forward so Spencer could feel the other man's breaths against his face. He wanted to vomit. 

"Nothing," Reid lied in a gasp, praying desperately he didn't find the phone still clutched behind Henry's back. 

"No, no, tell me," Number One flipped open the badge Number Two handed him, his brows raising. "Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Reid, what do you think you could do?"

"Nothing," Spencer said again, making sure his voice shook in what they would read as fear. "I'm off duty, I don't have a gun, and I'm watching my Godson."

Number Three grinned, crouching down in front of Henry. Spencer jerked backwards, shoving his nephew more firmly behind him. "Hey, hey, hey. Calm down, I'm just trying say hi to the little guy," he said, an exaggerated tone of exasperation in his voice.

"Don't touch him," Reid snapped, his voice dropping the anxiety and growing firm. From the way the man suddenly stood up, laughing, he knew he'd messed up.

* * *

"Oh my God, Hotch, they're in there. Henry--"

"JJ, we need you with a level head right now," Hotch warned, but all of them had deep frowns on their faces and anxiety running through their veins

" _Why so defensive, Dr. Reid?"_ One of the men demanded, and Emily had to help JJ sit down, her whole frame shaking. Garcia had tears in her eyes as they all watched the phone, waiting for something to miraculously fix the situation. 

A heart shattering shriek pierced their ears. " _Uncle 'pencer! Uncle 'pencer!"_

"Oh my God," JJ sobbed, leaning more heavily against Emily. 

"Morgan, get SWAT ready to go in, now," Hotch commanded, no doubt thinking about his own son in this position. Even if he didn't have his own kid, he loved Henry. All of them did. 

Suddenly there was a clattering noise, the sound of the phone falling to the ground and a grunt. " _If you touch him again, I will kill you,"_ Reid said, his voice slightly muffled. 

" _Oh yeah_?" A scoff. " _Grab the phone."_

"No, no, no," Garcia begged as Morgan took off to talk to the SWAT leader. 

" _And who, Dr. Reid, is JJ?"_

"Oh, Jesus," Emily mumbled. 

" _She's just a friend, I wanted to say goodb-_ -"

"Shut him up."

A pained grunt found their ears, and the panicked screams of who were likely the other hostages. It sounded like he'd been hit. " _Are you there, JJ?_ " The unsub asked into the phone, and her tear filled eyes met Hotch's, who nodded, grabbing the phone and holding it up to his mouth. 

"You're completely surrounded, sir. Harming any of the hostages will not work in your favor. Just tell us what you want," Hotch said, voice low and firm. 

" _You do not sound like a JJ. Are you one of his Fed friends?"_

"Dr. Reid is--"

" _I want JJ on the phone, now, or I blow a hole through their heads, starting with the kid_ ," the man sung. 

She looked like she was going to throw up, grabbing the phone before Hotch could protest. "If you hurt my son, I swear to God--" the blonde began, her tears obvious in her voice, but the man cut her off with a laugh, not unlike he'd been doing to Spencer. 

" _Your son? No wonder Uncle Spencer here called you,"_ the man muttered something to quiet for them to hear, and then with a dangerous tilt to his voice, said, " _Dr. Reid, you said she was just a friend. You know, I really don't like liars."_

" _I-I'm not lying. She is my friend, why else would I be his Godfa--"_

A gunshot cut off Spencer's voice, and horrifyingly, it was followed with bloodcurdling screams.

* * *

Despite the gun aimed at him and the very obvious trigger pull, it still took Reid a second too long to realize that he'd been shot. 

His right arm was still wrapped around Henry, and his left hand was held out in a surrendering gesture. Everyone around him was screaming, especially Henry, and that's when he finally felt it. 

He'd been shot before, in the knee, but this was nothing like that. This was _fire_. It felt like someone had reached into his stomach and lit a match. "Oh," he gasped, and then he was falling. Henry was screaming and sobbing at his side, and the other hostages were all crying out, but the unsubs only stood there, smiling. Number One and Number Three were smiling, anyway. Number Two looked slightly horrified. 

"Uncle 'pencer! Uncle 'pencer! You're bleedin'!" Henry sobbed, cowering next to his collapsed form as he cried heavily, tears and snot on his face. 

"I'm. . . okay," Reid gasped, holding his hands over the wound as firmly as he could, tears pricking at his eyes. 

"If you send any of your officers in, the rugrat is next," Number One snapped into the phone, and then he hung up. As Spencer laid on the ground bleeding, his Godson crying at his side, his first thought was, _what a fucking day to wear a white shirt._

* * *

JJ had never ran out of a vehicle faster, her heart pounding as she yelled for the SWAT team to stop. "They shot our agent inside, they're gonna kill my son if we go in," she gasped, the rest of the team scrambling out of the tech van with her. 

Morgan's face blanched, and the SWAT officers immediately stood down. For the first time in a long time, none of them knew what to do.

* * *

"I need. . . Help me sit up, please. . ." Reid panted to the woman next to him. She'd been hovering uselessly at his side since he'd gone down, and he knew she was hyper vigilant of Henry still tucked against Reid's side, refusing to move, even as blood got onto his hands and clothes. 

"O-Of course," she whispered, shooting a glance at their captors, before hooking her hands under his arms to help him lean against the wall. A pained groan left his lips, his eyes squeezing shut and jaw clenching. 

His entire torso was drenched in crimson, and even as he held his hands against the wound, it only continued to bleed. "D-Do you have any-any cloth I could use to keep pressure on it?" Spencer asked, his tone desperate, but she rapidly shook her head, biting her lip as tears rolled down her face. 

She was terrified, as anyone would be in her situation. "Hey, it's. . . gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay," he assured, trying to smile but instead choking on a cough, hunching over himself. Blood wetted his lips and pooled in his mouth, rolling down his chin. He was sure if he wasn't already ashen, his face would've paled. That was _bad_. He had internal bleeding, and with the speed it was leaving his body to pool on the ground, he wasn't sure how long he had. 

He didn't know if the bullet had hit anything important on the way through, and he didn't know if he had ten minutes or an hour. 

"Are you gon' die, Uncle 'pencer?" Henry asked, sniffling, and when Reid turned his head to look at him, he saw the boy rubbing his hand across his face, leaving a smear of blood. 

"No, no, Henry. I'm. . . gonna be fine," he promised, managing a shaky smile, and for once in his life, he didn't know if he was lying or not.

* * *

It was nearing on fifteen minutes when the first black spots danced across his vision, but it was also when his plan finally formulated. Blood was soaking most of his body and smeared across the floor around him, and the pain in his stomach was intensifying with every beat of his heart, but he finally figured out what to do. 

Maybe if his attention wasn't split between Henry, the other hostages, and his sluggishly bleeding gunshot wound, he would have thought of something sooner, but he didn't have time to think of 'what if's. "What's-What's your name?" Reid whispered to the woman beside him, wincing as his breath hitched with a cough, pain flaring through his abdomen. 

"Jenny," she whispered back, and Reid noticed that her tears had finally stopped, but she was still shaking slightly. 

"Can you--Can you keep Henry behind you?" He asked, and the little boy looked up at hearing his name. 

"Of course. Um, why?" Jenny said, nodding, but Spencer was already looking back at his Godson, removing his right hand to shakily grab both of his. 

"I need you to get behind Jenny and Alice, okay? Everything's gonna be okay," Spencer commanded, his voice soft, and Henry nodded, sniffling as he climbed over his uncle's lap into Jenny's. 

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" Number Two hissed at him, his voice low. Relief surged through him that the other two hadn't noticed yet, and he mumbled a random string of gibberish under his breath, his head hanging. 

"What?" Number Two leant down, his brows furrowing as he held his ear closer to Reid's face. With a force he didn't know how he still had, he threw himself forward, doing everything he could to ignore how badly his stomach hurt. 

His forehead connected with the other man's head, a pained yelp leaving both of their lips, and in his surprise, the grip on his gun loosened. Spencer tugged it out of his hands and wrapped his arm around the man's neck, the other aiming the pistol against his skull as his friends spun around, aiming their own weapons. 

"Let him go!" Number One shouted, and Number Two's hands began clawing at the arm around his throat. 

Reid jammed the barrell against the side of his head, hard. "If you don't let these hostages go now, I'll shoot. I'm not lying to you," he gasped, the only thing keeping him upright and his hold firm being Henry's quiet sniffling behind him, and the other hostages' bated breaths. 

"You won't. You're a cop," Number Three argued. 

"Right now, I'm a Godfather, and you're putting my Godson in danger. Besides, you don't want them anyways," he said, locking eyes with the leader, whose head tilted, his eyes switching from angry to confused. 

"What do I want then, huh?" He sneered, taking a step closer. Spencer's hold tightened on the gun. 

"You want something that interests you, something that entertains you. Or, in this case; someone. You don't need these random civilians, you just need me," he said rapidly, alarm bells going off in his head as spots danced across his vision once more. 

"I'm a Federal Agent, and I'm already dying. I won't try anything if you let everyone go," Reid lied, sucking in shaky breaths, one after another. There was a 50/50 chance that he'd get through to the main unsub, but as he stared into the unfamiliar eyes, he quickly realized which way the situation was going to go. 

Number One wasn't even considering letting them go, and from the way he was subtly shifting the hand with the gun, he had mere seconds. "Down!" Spencer yelled to the hostages, and he tore the gun away from Number Two's head and aiming it at Number one, pulling the trigger in rapid succession. 

Unfortunately, he'd had the same idea, and Number Two was littered with bullets from his own leader. With two unsubs down, Number Three should have surrendered. But he was loyal.

Three got off four shots before Spencer put him down, and one of them actually found its way home in the agent's shoulder. 

Reid's body jerked backwards, and he was on the floor again in seconds, all the air leaving his lungs. "Uncle 'pencer!' Henry screamed like he'd done so many times in the past hour. (Had it really been only an hour?)

Even as he shuddered through the pain, he looked to his nephew. "I'm okay," he lied, his breathing becoming steadily more shallow. "Jenny, help me stand. They're going to come in soon if we don't get out now."

The woman who was still half holding Henry had wide eyes as she scrambled over to him, and he could read the uncertainty of whether or not she should listen to him on her face, but she helped him up anyways. He cried out in pain as she pulled him to his feet, and he almost fell right back down. 

Reid kept himself up on sheer willpower alone, and, wrapping his injured arm loosely around his stomach, stumbled over to the closed door. "The hostages are coming out!" He yelled hoarsely. He then turned to the others, nodding. 

Without hesitance, the crying group all ran for the doors, bursting outside. Henry quickly reattached himself to Reid's side, ignoring the blood that dripped steadily from his uncle's wounds, and just hugging him as he shook with sobs. 

Jenny looked tearful and unsure, but Spencer nodded one more time, and she stepped outside. And finally, Spencer stepped out too, his vision blurring. 

He spotted his team right as they spotted him, and he was sure he looked like death. "Henry! Spencer!" JJ screamed. The five year old broke away from Spencer, sprinting into his mom's arms as he wailed. 

Finally content that Henry was safe, Reid let the darkness take hold, his legs giving out for the final time. The last thing he saw before his eyes fell closed was Hotch, Morgan, and Emily running at him.

* * *

In all honesty, Spencer was tired of hospitals. He'd probably been to enough to start a scrapbook, and it was frustratingly irritating. It wasn't even a second after he woke up that he realized where he was, his half open eyes landing on an empty Jell-O cup. 

He sighed. "D'you always have'ta take my Jell-O?" He mumbled, trying to find Morgan. As expected, the man was sitting at his side, a cheeky grin on his face. 

"Hey there, Pretty Boy. How you feeling?" 

"Like I got shot a little bit," he joked, experimentally shifting his arms. Ouch, okay, note to self; do not move right arm. He was about to add reassurance that he was okay, when a voice made him jump. 

"A little bit?"

The Mom voice. "Oh no--'

"Spence, we thought you died," JJ said desperately, her eyes filled with tears and rimmed with red. 

"I'm okay, Jayje, really. I had to keep Henry safe," he told her, trying to give off an empathetic look, but he was still only half conscious, so it probably looked a bit like he was constipated. 

"And you did. God, Spence, I'll always be grateful for that. But you--We almost lost you. You almost _died_ and I didn't even get to tell you thank you for saving him, I didn't get to tell you--" She was beginning to cry again, so Reid cut her off. 

"Hey, hey. I'm here. You can tell me. You do get to tell me," he soothed, patting her hand weakly without moving the arm. 

JJ simply sniffed, her face softening. "Thank you, Spence. Thank you so much," she whispered, and then she leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his cheek. 

"Do you need anything?" She asked after a quiet moment of them both smiling. 

"Actually, yeah. Could you get me some Jell-O that this thief over here can't get to?"

JJ smirked. "Definitely. Don't worry, though. I'm pretty sure the cup he ate was six months expired."

Reid then learned that laughing hurt when you had a gunshot wound in the stomach, and he groaned, his smile still not leaving his face. 

Morgan squawcked in offense, but after a few moments his face gree serious. "You did good, kid, you know that?"

With a smile, Spencer nodded. His eyes were heavy, and he was definitely going to pass out soon, but for now, all he could think of was that he did do good. He kept Henry safe. 

(Later, said boy would be brought into the room by Will and he'd fall asleep cuddled into his uncle's side, a satisfied smile on his face.)

**Author's Note:**

> i write too many hospital scenes


End file.
